Page 69 of Dead Man's Hollow
As she hurries to the front of the house, Maisy and Jordana skirt the breakfast food and wind their way through the kitchen to find Amy, who’s deep in conversation with Kristy and Nick. Amy’s eyes are bleary and ringed with purple half-circles.
“Late night,” she tells them by way of greeting.
“Late night and a bottle of wine,” Kristy corrects her sister. “She and Chloe both look like something the cat dragged in.”
“It was so nice to spend that time with her, but, whew, am I paying for it today,” Amy admits.
Jordana asks Kristy and her husband if they’re willing to say a few words about how it feels to know Heather is alive, and they follow her into the sitting room, where it’s slightly less noisy.
“I saw Rich’s car out front,” Maisy says as soon as the others begin to walk away.
Amy sighs. “He wanted to come by and get some clothes and toiletries. And the kids don’t know I asked him to leave. Neither do Diana and Kristy. I’m not even sure what I want to do. There’s so much going on right now. It was easier to tell him he could have breakfast with us. He won’t be here long, anyway. He works today.”
She sounds so defeated and worn down that Maisy itches to give her a hug. Before she can offer any comfort, Bastian comes in from the patio.
“Have you seen Chloe?” he asks Amy in a casual tone that’s at odds with the deep furrows creasing his brow and the stiffness of his posture.
“She’s in the yard checking out the gardens.”
“She’s not,” he tells her.
“Sure she is,” Amy insists.
“Shewas.I saw her through the window admiring your peonies and hydrangeas. But when I went out to join her, she was gone.”
Amy waves her hand in a vague circle. “She’s around here somewhere.”
Bastian locks eyes with Maisy. They’re thinking the same thing:Unless she’s not.
It’s possible the emotional weight of learning who she is, traveling across the border to meet her three sisters and their families, and finding out that her parents are both dead has triggered another episode of dissociative amnesia. Maisy can easily imagine Chloe slipping out of the busy house without anyone noticing. She could be miles away by now.
ChapterThirty-Seven
As Rich drivesChloe out of the neighborhood, away from her husband and child, he keeps up a steady stream of chatter about the kids, hockey, and Amy’s garden to distract her from the fact that this drive is longer than the few minutes he’s promised. As they pass Kennywood, he points it out.
“Remember Kennywood? And Sandcastle?”
She turns away from the window to paint him with a puzzled look. “No. I don’t remember anything. What’s Kennywood?”
“It’s an amusement park. You know, roller coasters and rides. Sandcastle is a waterpark. You and your sisters were there constantly. Diana even worked at the Potato Patch making fries the summer before she started college. You really don’t remember?”
She arches an eyebrow. “That’s how amnesia works.”
He nods but doesn’t respond. They drive in silence until he turns off Duquesne Boulevard, taking the exit for McKeesport.
“Is it much longer?” Her voice wobbles.
“No,” he tells her as they drive past the turn for the house she grew up in.
He watches for a reaction. Nothing. Maybe she’s not faking. He’ll know for sure soon.
He hangs a right and crosses the bridge to Dead Man’s Hollow. They drive in silence for several long miles. She begins to fidget in her seat, perhaps sensing this drive is taking too long, so he speeds up.
When he pulls into the gravel lot, she spots the name on the wooden notice board sign at the edge of the parking lot. She twists to stare at him.
“What are you doing? Why are we stopping here?”
“Your parents’ place is right around the corner,” he lies smoothly. “I thought you might want to walk around here for a bit first.”
